Delhi: AAP convenor Kejriwal meets Tamil Nadu CM Stalin ahead of INDIA bloc's meeting
Dec 19, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 19 : Ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting on Tuesday, Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at Tamil Nadu Bhavan in Delhi. 
DMK MP TR Baalu received Delhi CM Kejriwal on his arrival at Tamil Nadu Bhawan. Various issues regarding the INDIA Alliance were discussed as was the suspension of opposition MPs from the house.
Speaking on the suspension of MPs, AAP MP Raghav Chadha said, "If BJP is scared of anyone, it is Arvind Kejriwal...On the suspension of MPs, I would say that it is a black day in India's democracy. I would not say that some MPs were suspended but democracy has been suspended..."
Alliance leaders like Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Samajwadi Pary chief Akhilesh Yadav have arrived in the capital for the critical meeting.
During the meeting, seat-sharing discussions are likely to be on the agendas of various parties.
JMM MP Mahua Maji said that she's sure that in the INDIA bloc meeting, the alliance parties will take steps to make sure mistakes committed in recent Assembly polls are not repeated.
"Elections (2024 Lok Sabha polls) are near, and I am sure alliance parties will take steps to make sure mistakes committed in recent Assembly polls are not repeated...The alliance has been formed to win. Seat-sharing should be done as per the winnability of candidates from the parties," she said.
TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that with the meeting, the alliance should be able to give a message to the public that it can fight and defeat the BJP.
"The work on seat-sharing should start as soon as possible. Three meetings have been held but there have been no gains till now. Today's meeting should be results-oriented. With the meeting, the alliance should be able to give a message to the public that it can fight and defeat the BJP," he said.
Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Minister Atishi said, "In the meeting today important points like like seat-sharing and others will be discussed. AAP and Arvind Kejriwal will make every possible effort to make INDIA alliance a success."
Seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, which are just a few months away, is likely to be at the top of the agenda for the next INDIA bloc meeting and will be crucial for Congress, particularly as the party lost the recent Assembly elections in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17-18. The third meeting happened in Mumbai on August 31-September 1.
INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress. The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the Mumbai meeting, the opposition parties adopted resolutions to collectively contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections while announcing that seat-sharing arrangements would be finalized as soon as possible through a spirit of give-and-take.
The theme chosen by the INDIA bloc for the elections is "Judega Bharat, Jeetega India" (India will unite, India will win) to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government.
